The Cost of Love
by Emerald-winged
Summary: They were together,sharing everything as one until one event occurred. They thought they're over but each still wish things are as they were. Soon they realized there're a lot to sacrifice for their love. How they wish they can just go back...
1. Something New

**Summary**: They were together, sharing everything as one. Until one event occurred, breaking their relationship. Things were getting more and more complicated as time pass by and soon they realized there were a lot to sacrifice for love. How they wish they could just go back to those innocent and carefree days...

**Disclaimer**: Right...Like you think I own CCS, no way!

In this chapter:

Sakura and Shaoran are on 9th grade

_Thoughts _

Enjoy reading!

**The Cost of Love **

Chapter I

Something New

The girl ran towards the soda vendor. Her footsteps echoed throughout the park, reaching closer and closer towards her destination. Getting blown by the cool breezy wind, her short auburn hair brushed the tips of her shoulder blades, tickling her face gently. Her face and body soothed a bit, feeling how soft the wind touched her skin. Meanwhile her gleaming emerald eyes were looking at the green trees and the bright blue sky with tinted clouds on it. She was panting heavily caused by her cheer leading practice and by all the running she had gone through. Her eyes shone brighter and her smile widened looking at the big container full of assorted drinks. Sodas, teas, coffees, beers with all the brand names and flavors labeled on each cans.

Among all, Royal milk tea was her utmost favorite. She held her coin firmly in her clutched hand, desperate to gulp the one drink she loved the best and started leaning over towards the coin slot. She was surprised when another hand tried to slide a coin towards the slot as well. Her hand looked petite and weak compared to the hand right in front of her.

Her eyes trailed upwards until she met a pair of icy amber eyes.

**Emerald met amber... **

Her eyes kept looking onto his as if they were glued to them. She indeed has never seen a pair of eyes that can show no emotion, no warmth, and no heart yet still looked attractive. They were a strong color of amber, a source of burning fire was locked deep within, keeping the blazing flame inside. Yet the coldness from his heart covered it wholly, making the warmness of his eyes covered by a thick haze. But somehow she was able to see it, his burning, warm eyes clearly. She knew instantly he was full of courage and passion hidden deep inside him. She bet a lot of girls in her class would do anything to be in her position right now. They were indeed very close, close enough to hear each other's ragged breathing. They both inched away slowly from the vending machine. From there she could see how tall he was, she was only as tall as where his chin was.

"You go", he said suddenly, not showing any expression on his face whatsoever.

She replied a soft thanks and slid a coin to the slot and pushed the button. The can instantly dropped down, causing a 'cling' sound, breaking the silence between them then she grabbed it, feeling the coldness of the can with moist penetrating her soft hand.

Afterwards, she stepped away allowing him to take his turn.

She opened the can, about to drink it all up when a loud bang came from the machine. Then she saw it, the boy hit the machine hard with his clenched fist and sighed loudly. Then she saw the reason why, below all of the cans were written 'sold out', including her favorite Royal milk tea. She just took the last drink! She heard him curse under his breath then took a deep breath, trying to regain his composure.

With that he turned and started walking away. She noticed he was wearing a pair of black training pants and a green fitted sleeveless top. He has messy brown hair which made him look cool and a black headband around his forehead.

_He looks like a warrior..._She blushed at the thought and shook it away.

"W-wait! You can have it"

He turned slightly facing her and raised a brow, a bit surprised by her reaction but just looked away afterwards.

"Y-You can have it. You look much more exhausted than I do"

In fact he looked beaten up. His green top was drenched by his sweat and there was a little blood on his right upper arm. His messy hair was wet caused by his sweat and drops of it drenched his shirt even more.

She looked at him worriedly. He wouldn't want this guy to be dehydrated or anything.

He rolled his eyes after seeing her worried face towards him.

"I'm not weak", he started running off.

"B-but..." too late, he was already far away from her. _Man, he can run fast..._

* * *

On the next day she woke up early surprisingly and got ready for school. She took a quick shower and put on her uniform.

"Good morning, Kero-chan!" she greeted her small lion and bear alike doll on the side of her bed.

"Good morning, okaa-san" she said softly with a sad smile placed on her angelic face, facing a photo of a very pretty young lady with the same glow of emerald in her eyes, her long brown locks framing her face that was smiling brightly. Her photo was next to her favorite doll.

Right after, she went downstairs to have breakfast. She cooked pancakes for her father, her brother, and herself. She was used to do house works since she was very young. She needed to be able to do these things being the only girl in the house, not that her brother and her father couldn't do it. They took turns to do house works and that morning was her turn to cook breakfast.

Not long, she finished cooking and was setting the table. She sat quietly, enjoying her breakfast early alone. Her father was a teacher at her new school. He taught Geography to the high school students. Her brother went to a school right next to her school. He was already on the last year of high school, 12th grade and was busy with all his works, preparations to go to college, and part-time jobs.

After having her breakfast, she was ready to head her school after washing her dishes when a familiar voice was heard.

"Oi kaiju! How come you're early?" a voice came from behind her.

"Onii-chan, stop calling me that!! I'm not in elementary school anymore!" she growled

"Whatever you say, kaiju..You're still a kaiju to me"

"Watashi wa kaiju janai (I am not a kaiju)!!!!!"

"Hey, hey...Touya, Sakura stop. You'll wake up the neighbors if you kept shouting like that"

"Ohayo, otou-san" they chorused.

"Got to go, bye dad", she reached up and kissed him on the cheek.

"Bye onii-chan", she stuck her tongue out then giggled.

Then she walked out of the house, closing the door gently.

"She's growing up, isn't she?" Fujitaka said suddenly.

"Not really"

"Better than when she used to stomp your foot", Fujitaka then chuckled, looking at how his children show their care towards each other. It certainly is a unique way.

Touya shivered at the thought. She used to stomp his foot really hard, like a real kaiju!

Funny how a 17-year-old boy like him shivering over a mere thought about his own little sister's foot crashing down on his own!

* * *

She arrived at school early and hasn't even seen anyone there. She put her bag on her desk and took off. It has been a habit to her, whenever she arrives early, she would take a walk by her own around her school, enjoying the serenity and the peaceful morning. As so, she did the same that day, until she heard something.

It came from the back garden. She walked slowly towards it and saw a figure. Whoever it was, she couldn't take her eyes off those swift moves. She walked towards the figure, trying to see who it was. As she was nearing the figure, she could hear the figure's pants and shouts while moving as if fighting.

_I know that voice... _

As she walked closer and closer, she noticed that figure was a boy. He was wearing a white sleeved top and a pair of grey pants down to his knees. She walked slowly, step by step then suddenly gasped.

_It's that boy from yesterday! What is he doing training this early? _

He then kicked high, jabbed to his side, jumped high with a twirling high kick, and landed on both of his hands then somersaulted to the front.

"Sugoi..." she breathed out.

He turned his head towards where the sound was coming from then met a familiar pair of emerald eyes. _That pink aura surrounds her._ "You..."

"Sorry, didn't mean to bother your training..."

He ignored her and kept on training, his low kicks, high kicks, punches, jabs, and combination moves he collaborated. Meanwhile, she kept watching intently and gasped as he did his moves rather fast. Then he suddenly stopped.

"Would you stop doing that? If you keep on gasping, then just leave. You're starting to annoy me"

"But I have nothing to do"

"Now you do"

"What?" she asked rather cheerfully, her eyes becoming shiny. _Will he teach me that somersault he just did? _

"Leave"

Her jaw dropped instantly," fine but don't blame me if you get lonely out here". She turned and walked away, satisfied after looking at his disturbed features.

_Who does he think he is? I was just watching... _

"That girl's gonna get it one of this days!!!" Shaoran roared, continuing his training, putting more powerful kicks and jabs.

"Hey my dear descendant"

_That annoying voice! _

"Stop calling me that, dammit!! And how'd you get here??" he roared.

"Ouch, that hurts Shaoran..."

"What do you want, Eriol?!" he roared louder.

He's the only one that can pass Shaoran's senses. Shaoran was never able to sense his well-hid aura. His blue bright eyes that hid mysteries annoyed Shaoran a lot, causing him to never fully understand him inside and out. He wore glasses and had well combed jet black hair, unlike Shaoran's. His was messy even if he did comb it. He was slightly taller than Syaoran and that bothered him even more.

"Hey I didn't come here to fight with you okay..."

"Then, what are you doing here?!"

"Ooh...Nothing important. Just wondering about something..."

"Spit it out"

"You just talked to Sakura Kinomoto..."

"Who's that??"

"The girl, dear descendant. The emerald-eyed one"

"So?" he started jabbing again to both of his sides__

"Dude, that's the girl"

"What are you talking about?"

"Cute. Poise. Sweet. A cheer leader. And pretty. That's the girl everybody was talking about. She's on the same grade as us right? God, we're so lucky to go to this school!" he started jumping up and down, like a small boy getting a candy.

Shaoran sweat dropped and rolled his eyes, "Why the hell should I care?! You're wasting my time!!"

"Man, she's perfect!"

"Whatever, I'm not interested", he turned and left. __

""Aaw...You're no fun"

* * *

Her class was quite full by the time she got back. She smiled hearing all the noises her class mates made as usual, a crowd is much better than being alone meeting the coldest person alive. She made her way towards her desk, smiling at her very few new friends who greeted her. She has been a student in Shirokin Junior High for 2 years now and was starting her 9th year. She loved her school dearly, the school, the huge gardens, the teachers, and her class mates.

The classroom was well-lit and rays of light from the sun pierced through the windows. There were some students already, putting their bags on their individual desks or on their chairs.

"Ohayo, Sakura-chan" a girl greeted her warmly.

"Ohayo" she replied with a bright smile.

After more greetings from her new friends, she went straight to her desk which was located right next to the window. Sunlight poured forth onto her desk. She sighed noticing the cold, brown-haired boy was no longer there. _I guess he would be finished...I just wish he would teach me that perfect somersault!_

As she was repeating the flash of him doing the somersault inside her head over and over, she didn't notice the stares that most of the guys in her class were giving her, including the one beside her.

"Hey" the boy next to her greeted, smirking

"Oh, hi" she just smiled.

"I'm Kai Koichi. Nice to meet you" he offered a hand towards her

"Hi, I'm..." she was about to answer when he cut her off

"Sakura Kinomoto, right? I know that"

"Sorry, do I know you?"

"No, no. This is the first time we are in the same class"

She just smiled and took his hand gently, with him shaking it softly.

_He seemed kind. _

"Hey, have you seen Li Shaoran?" a girl suddenly asked to her friends, not far from where Sakura was sitting.

"No...I heard he's really hot. He just transferred here right? From Hong Kong? I'm like so lucky to be in this school", another girl replied, twisting her long, curly blonde hair aside.

"Oh my gosh! Li Shaoran?! The boy who's going to be head of Li clan right?" this time a girl with thick glasses asked

"Yes, yes, that's him!" another answered, smiling widely.

"He's perfect! He's hot and filthy rich!" a girl with really short black hair added.

"I heard he has a lot of mansions!"

Soon, the class was buzzing with that person's name. "Li Shaoran...", "Li Shaoran...", "Li Shaoran..."

Sakura was dumbfounded. "Who is this person people kept talking about?" she asked Koichi.

_He sure is popular._

"You haven't heard about him?"

She just shook her head.

"RRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIINNGGGG!!!!!!!!!!" the bell rang violently.

Everybody instantly stopped talking and went to their seats.

_Mm...Shaoran Li, wonder who that is._

* * *

A sneeze was heard on the roof where two figures are standing behind the railings, looking at the sight of the whole school ground.

"Did you catch a cold, Sha-o-ran?" Eriol asked playfully

"No way"

"Maybe someone's constantly thinking about you"

"What ever, I don't believe such incompetent believe! It'll make me go stupid."

"You're right. If that's the case, you would've been sneezing everyday in your life", he laughed

"Shut the hell up!"

"Hey, aren't we supposed to be in class? I thought I heard the bell rang just now"

"Nah, I don't feel like studying boring subjects for today"

"You sure Uncle Ji Yan won't mind?"

"I wasn't the one who got into trouble with him last time"

"Shit!" Eriol cursed, remembering exactly what he did last time clearly. He quickly ran towards the door and went to his class. "Why does he have to be a principal in this particular school?"

* * *

The door of the class opened, revealing a tall boy entering with his jet black hair and a pair of round glasses, making him looked sophisticated. Loud gasps were heard throughout the classroom.

"Now class, I want to introduce you to a new student, Hiragizawa Eriol" the teacher announced.

**In another classroom **

The teacher, Mr. Takeda peeked through his thick glasses, scanned the busy students until one in particular caught his eyes. The girl, Kinomoto. As usual, she was a bit behind than the others. She would start by looking towards the paper filled with mathematics problems for a long time then start moving around for friends that wouldn't mind to teach her. Often, nobody wanted to teach her because she was just going to slow them down. But that day, the teacher himself was a bit surprised when Kai, one of the smartest students in the school, offered her some help.

"Do you need help?"

"A lot, actually"

"Ok, then. So that equation goes like this. You use this formula to find the answer then you apply it to this formula here. By doing that you'll find the x and the y"

Sakura kept on asking him and he explained it full heartedly, repeating every time she has her confused mimic on her face.

"Do you understand now?" he asked after explaining another answer of the equation.

"I guess so" she answered, lying. She still didn't get it.

"If you understand, then how'd you do this one then?" he asked, pointing his finger to the next problem.

"Emm..." _Okay...Not good. I did not expect him to ask me another problem... _

"Well?" he asked smiling

"Move that to there, then...ermm... times this to that..." she was mumbling, unsure with her answer

"Sorry, I can't hear you" he shifted closer to hear her answer.

"I GIVE UP!!! I don't understand it at all!!" she started shouting which made all the attention fell on her.

Koichi chuckled, followed by the roaring laughs from the other students. She immediately blushed and looked down at her own two feet.

_I shouldn't have shouted! _

The laughter was getting louder and louder, making her blood rose up.

"It's not funny! I CAN do it! I-I just need more time"

"Like your whole life?" a voice said loudly.

Hearing that, the other students laughed even more. She could see the faces of the students around clearly, the girl on the corner laughed so much that she almost fell from her chair, the girl with glasses right next to her simply looked at her with a strange look.

The boy with blonde hair with his friend right next to him were looking at her, trying so hard not to laugh but failed and ended up laughing so loud.

Even Mr. Takeda, his shoulders were shaking but looked at his papers on his desk, trying to hide it.

She was left there standing up blushed with crimson. She has never been that embarrassed, ever!

* * *

Running footsteps was heard all around the staircase towards the roof top of the school. The door opened suddenly, showing a panting Sakura with her frustrated look on her face and a lunchbox carried by her right arm. She went straight towards the railings after putting her lunchbox right next to where she was standing and grabbed the railings hard.

**"MATH IS SO FREAKIN' HARD!!!!!!!!!!" **she fumed on the top of her lungs, ragged by her panting and by her disappointment. She tried to break the hard railings if possible, clenching her fists, and gritting her teeth alltogether.

She furrowed her eyebrows, letting everything in her mind out from the past few hours. She was so disappointed of herself, causing tears to weld up in her beautiful emerald eyes, covering them. All she could think of was her failure not only as a student, but also as the daughter of her proud father who she loves very much.

"Why does it have to be so hard for me? Life is so unfair! No matter how many times I've tried, I would always fail in the end on this subject!! And yeah, I know I'm a bit slow on that annoying subject, but it doesn't mean everyone had to laugh at me!! It's not funny at all!! Ican't ta-" her shaking yet firm voice was cut off by a voice coming from behind her.

"**OI!!! Could you stop shouting??!! You're hurting my ear!!!" **Shaoran moved his towel from his face, revealing his messy chestnut hair and his disturbed face. He was lying down on the shaded area, close to the exit door to not get the burning sun on his face.

She gasped then quickly turned her head towards the direction of where the voice was coming from, shock written all over her face. Her face suddenly paler than usual, noticing the boy who had just heard her bursting words.

_Not him again... Please tell me he didn't just heard that..._

"H-How long have you been , you know, there?" she asked after gathering up her courage.

"Longer than you", he started hoisting his body up to stand.

"So, y-y-you h-heard i-it?" she looked away, too embarassed to face him.

"You were loud", he walked towards the exit door.

"Where are you going?"

"Away from you", he walked through the door, slamming it hard.

_This was supposed to be my sanctuary. No one ever come to the roof...Now I have to share it with him? Great...This is something new._

* * *

**_Emerald-winged_**

**A/N**: Okay...Hi, this is my first story in Fanfiction. I hope you guys like it! This story is actually inspired by a manga I read years ago but the story is completely different from the original story. Comments, critics, and reviews PLEASEEE...R&R&R&R&R&R&R and please keep reading...

**XOXOXO **


	2. The Challenge

**Summary**: They were together, sharing everything as one. Until one event occurred, breaking their relationship. Things were getting more and more complicated as time pass by and soon they realized there were a lot to sacrifice for love. How they wish they could just go back to those innocent and carefree days...

**Disclaimer**: CCS is Clamp's, no doubt.

**The Cost of Love**

Chapter 2

The Challenge

Sakura grabbed her backpack and swung it to her side. The bag shifted and lay gently on her right shoulder. She had her breakfast, her favorite cereal with a toast still clenched in her petite mouth as she was set and ready to leave. She was the first one leaving, unusually early once more.

The sidewalk looked deserted, leaving her with the sounds of rustling leaves, the sound of small birds singing, the sound of her own foot steps echoing through the street, and the sound of her own mouth munching softly finishing the toast with a satisfied look. The sky was perfect that day, a mix color from blue to orange creating a massive cover over the town. As lovely as it got the sky was also cloudless, signaling it would be another lovely day for all. The sun peeked, creating rays of sun to seep through the trees, piercing through the gap between the branches and leaves, leaving spotlights with random shapes and sizes on the ground.

The school gate soon came into her sight; half open as it lay untouched by other students. As the whole school ground looked silent and deserted, she couldn't help but felt a bit lonely until soon enough it was washed off by the wind blowing ever so gently. It made her feel comfortable in a way as if communicating to her with its soft sounds around her, accompanying her, and hugging her with its soft breeze all over her body. Some butterflies flew towards the blooming flowers on the garden cheerfully, the flower itself getting blown by the wind.

She made her way to her class, put her bag on her desk as usual and took off to take a walk around the school garden on another lovely morning.

A huge bushy tree lay in the middle of the garden with other trees surrounding it as if being protected from rain and hot, sunny days by it. She couldn't stop admiring the huge tree, with its branches moving side to side by the soft wind. Her emerald orbs seemed greener than ever, reflecting the green shadow of the huge tree, she couldn't help but smile.

With an idea struck her mind, she grabbed the shortest strong branch of the tree and started climbing the huge tree slowly, taking her time. The leaves tickling her body as she shifted higher and higher towards the right branch for her to sit on. When she found the right one, she sat gently on it, panting hard. This was her favorite tree among all. On spring, the tree that was then green changed into flowers, all pale pink with its petals falling every now and then by the wind.

Yes, it was a cherry blossom tree.

Her effort was resulted when she could see everything from where she was sitting. Her school building, the gardens, the classrooms that were empty, and of course a better view at the whole scenery of her school ground. She leaned over the trunk slowly, relaxing between the trunk and the branches full of green, fresh leaves, damp by the dew.

She didn't know how many minutes had passed but the next thing she knew, a familiar color caught her attention from below her.

"Hey, Shaoran, you could at least wait for me" a boy with black hair came running towards him, panting.

_That boy's Shaoran?!_

"Shut the hell up, Eriol and quit bothering my training!!"

"But I'll get lonely", he said teasingly.

"If you say another word, my hand will easily land on your face, _hard_", he answered icily, emphasizing on the 'hard' part.

The other boy whispered, "training, training, training..." then gave a sigh and left, leaving him alone.

She waited excitedly, wondering what sets of moves he'll be doing that day. But it never came.

"I know you're up there", he said suddenly.

_How does he know that??_

"How'd you know that?" she answered, sat up from her comfortable position, a bit bewildered. At the same time, her body slipped from the branch where she was sitting on and ended up falling closer and closer towards the ground and made a loud 'thump'.

"Ooowww..."

"Baka", Syaoran said sarcastically, unwillingly giving a hand towards her.

"You're the one who's an idiot!! You should've caught me!!" she replied, pouting her cute little face. "I don't need _your_ help anymore", she said while trying to get up and ended up falling once again until a strong hand caught her by the waist.

"Satisfied now? I'm busy and you're really a waste of time" he let go as soon as she was back at her own feet.

"What!? Me, wasting your time? I was actually relaxing on that tree when you came along. I was here first, mind you!"

Syaoran started to do his martial arts training, kicking and punching, ignoring the fact that Sakura was fuming.

"Are you even listening to me?"

"You talk too much. Could you just shut up and get the hell away?" he said while still doing his routines.

"That's not the way to talk to a girl, Syaoran", a voice came from behind another tree.

"Eriol" _How can he still be here!!_

The black-haired boy walked towards Sakura," I believe my cousin was being rude to you?"

"Very", she replied still pouting, glancing towards Syaoran.

"Don't mind him. I'm Hiragizawa Eriol. Please to meet you, Sakura Kinomoto."

"How'd you know my name?"

"Your name reflects your beauty", he smiled charmingly.

Sakura giggled taking his hand to shake them.

"Can both of you _just_ leave?" Syaoran suddenly said, frustration shown on his words.

"Come on Sakura-chan, let's leave this growling wolf."

Sakura giggled more but said, "As much as I want to leave but I really want him to teach me that somersault he did yesterday. Sorry, Hiragizawa-kun" she lowered her voice so that only Eriol heard him. Who knows Syaoran might just explode if he heard her say that.

"It's fine by me. He's the problem" he said, motioning towards Syaoran, " See ya, Sakura-chan", he started walking away then glanced back towards Sakura, "O yeah, just call me Eriol from now on, ok?" he said while blowing a wink towards her.

_He's such a looser, _Syaoran thought while rolling his amber eyes.

_He's sweet_, Sakura smiled and waved a hand towards him.

She turned and glanced towards Syaoran who's now doing the perfect somersaults over and over. He stopped instantly and growled," Why are _you_ still here?"

"Erm...Could you teach me how to do that somersault you did yesterday?"

"No"

"Please..."

"No!"

"Oh...Come on, I'm a fast learner"

"Doubt it, LEAVE!"

"I won't give up until you teach me, Li-kun!

"It's Li-sama to you!"

"Could you just teach me? I need it for my cheerleading skills. I've been trying to-"

"Save the unnecessary girly story, I won't teach you!"

"Fine! But I won't give up! You'll see, you'll teach me one day. A-And until that day, y-you s-should practice more! Yeah!" she stammered, gathering up and finding the right words to say to him. After that, she left with a pounding heart.

_I guess there's no point pushing him to teach me now. I'll try it again tomorrow until he's willing to teach me_

_The hell?_

_I won't give up, you'll see Syaoran Li._

After a boring class which was Biology, she was relieved by the next subject she had to do. The third period for Sakura that day was P.E., she soon headed to the gym after changing to her P.E. uniform, a short sleeved white, cotton shirt and a short dark blue pants. Unlike most girls in her class, she enjoys P.E. rather than just chatting in the corner, not doing the exercise they supposed to do where most girls tend to be until the teacher calls them. Usually it would just be her with some other girls playing with the boys.

"Finally it's my kind of subject!" she said to Kai who was laughing the whole last period, looking at Sakura.

"I didn't want it to end though, you know, the Biology class", he answered sheepishly.

Sakura glared playfully at him.

"What? It's not my fault you yawned a lot and almost hit your head on the table", he chuckled, remembering it again.

Sakura pouted, embarrassed by her own actions before.

The gym was divided into two areas, so two classes could share. She was surprised to see a group of girls surrounding someone, creating a barrier that seemed impossible to break. Soon enough she realized, the ones surrounded by the group were no other than Syaoran, who walked side by side with Eriol, smiling and talking to all of them with Syaoran looking annoyed.

_Not him again..._

Syaoran sensed and saw her from the corner of his eyes and chose to ignore her.

"Sakura-chan" Eriol called her and gave a wave after she saw him with a friendly, yet very attractive smile towards her. Other girls sighed toward him and smiled sweetly, trying to catch his gaze but then found disappointment because his gaze only fell towards Sakura.

The other girls clearly glared towards her after some other boys did the same as Eriol from the other side.

A lot of girls were trying to wave to Syaoran but he just ignored them all. Even the group surrounding them was also being ignored when they tried to make conversations.

_How rude..._Sakura thought solemnly.

The brief, awkward moment was then being cut off by the teacher's voice, "Okay, listen up. As a warm up, I want to join the two classes to do some laps. I want to see your level of stamina and also it's a way to loosen your muscles for the next exercise. I want you all to do three laps in this whole indoor gym so gather up on this corner and start when I blow the whistle."

A lot of groans were heard, the students were obviously not interested and found it annoying. But for Sakura, it's a challenge. She was trying to calculate how fast she should run so she wouldn't get tired easily and finish it quickly.

She smiled excitedly, estimaing the right speed she should do. Then her smile widened as another idea came into mind. She walked towards Syaoran, knowing that Eriol was right beside him. Eriol smiled warmly as soon as he saw her walking towards them. She thought Syaoran didn't notice her yet but then he moved away, knowing fully well that he was avoiding her. Sakura smiled apologetically towards Eriol as she run off towards Syaoran. Eriol just shook it off, looking at her, signaling a 'good luck'.

Getting annoyed she caught up with him. Syaoran didn't signal any signs that he has seen her so she walked a pace faster and stepped in front of him, looking up, straight at his eyes.

"What is it now?!" he was both annoyed and angry by the tone of his voice.

"Challenge", she simply answered, satisfied that he finally realized about her existence.

"What??"

"If I win, you teach me the somersault"

"I told you, no bloody WAY I will EVER going to teach _you"_

"Even if it's a challenge?"

He ignored her then started walking away.

"W-Wait!" she walked quickly, following him again.

_I guess I have to try a different way_

"Are you scared?" she said in a clear, loud tone so everybody could hear, even him.

The buzzing sound of the students' complaints was suddenly broke off by her simple three words. Some looked shocked by her bravery to say that to Syaoran, THE SYAORAN, the only boy you wouldn't want to mess with.

He seemed as if he didn't care and she wondered if she should try something else but then Sakura saw it. He sighed angrily, trying to regain his composure, she knew he heard it and was looking furious by her words.

"You ready?" Kai's voice came from next to her, smiling.

"Definitely"

At last, the whistle was blown loud and clear. Around 50 students started to run from the start line. Sakura ran as fast as she had estimated. Soon enough she was leading, leaving most of her friends behind. She looked around, trying to look for Syaoran.

_Where is he?_

After half of one lap, she saw him, still standing calmly on the start line, surrounded by group of girls who were just too lazy to do the running, trying to make conversation to the boy standing close to them. Sakura was utterly confused, not knowing what Syaoran was doing. He ignored the girls around him and was just staring blankly towards the trail.

_What is he doing? Letting me win? _

She ran through the start line again, ready to do the second lap. She passed him and saw that he was utterly annoyed, by the girls circling him and also maybe because of her? In her mind, thinking whether he was serious or not until, a certain color came into her sight.

Brown, messy hair.

He was running really fast, passing her easily, leaving the group of girls that was then complaining and whimpering. They were trying to catch him but they couldn't even catch up with Sakura who was now on one-forth of the second lap while Syaoran almost finishing his first lap. Sakura was amazed, he was running even faster than he did when she saw him on that day, the day she had first seen him.

_Show off! I won't give up, you'll see_

Sakura was trying to run faster, trying to stretch the gap between her and Syaoran. She was controlling her breathing, increasing her speed, being careful not to be too exhausted. She glanced towards her back, a bit bewildered when she saw him, closing in the gap. His face was still expressionless, leaving Sakura to wonder when he would actually show one. Their eyes suddenly met, Sakura quickly glanced away, trying to concentrate more on her running.

With Syaoran still behind her, she started to do her third lap. She was smiling widely as the finish line came into sight, relieved because Syaoran couldn't seem to keep up with her. For a moment there, she thought he could beat her easily. She glanced once more and he was still there, running behind her. He didn't look exhausted at all, he was still breathing evenly, unlike her. She was starting to take big breaths, her heart was pounding, and her running had slowed down.

_A little more..._

She had reached half of her third lap with Syaoran still behind her.

_5_

She felt a wind blowing from her right and noticed it was Syaoran who was suddenly had increased his speed and was right beside her. Sakura was shocked beyond believe. She did NOT expect that coming.

_4_

Sakura was trying to even it up by running faster, even though she was already really exhausted.

_3_

Syaoran was still breathing evenly, he sighed and was increasing his speed once more.

_2_

He was then leading, right ahead. He passed her easily, leaving her behind.

_1_

By the time she reached three-quarters of her third lap, Syaoran had passed the finish line and was standing there. Sakura couldn't believe it at first, there she was, so sure that she will win the match because she was leading until the third lap but then he easily caught up with her and won! He walked away from the trail and leaned on the wall calmly. Other students were still on their second lap and the girls that circled Syaoran and Eriol before were just running unwillingly and just reached their second lap. She just heard the girls' voices, complaining all the way about their hair being messed up, their make up ruined, and how much time was wasted just because of this three-running laps.

The commotion was broke off by the sound of a whistle. Then the teacher spoke, "Those who haven't finished three laps, keep going. As for the ones that have finish the running..," he glanced towards Syaoran and Sakura, who were clearly the only ones that had finished, "...take a break. I want each and every one of you to do three laps. I want you to build up your muscles first before we actually start the real exercise", he said towards the other students that was already panting heavily, sweat covering their faces.

Sakura was walking pass the wall where Syaoran was leaning on, on her way to grab her drink.

"I win", he said silently, his eyes still icy, not looking at her.

She was annoyed, ignoring him.

Soon after, Kai finished his three laps. He was taking deep breaths, thin sweat covered his intelligent face. He walked towards the same direction Sakura did and passed Syaoran.

Their eyes locked for a brief moment, both not saying a word with no emotion shown on their features. After a few seconds or so, Kai continued walking towards Sakura, and started to chat with her. Sakura giggled softly, responding to his words while drinking from her thermos that was most likely to be filled with her favorite drink, milk tea.

Unknown to Sakura, a pair of amber eyes were watching her intently from the same spot he had been.

"What're you looking at, cuz?" Eriol said from right next to him, trying to look at the direction his cousin was staring at.

Syaoran threw his head to his other side, shocked to see a grinning Eriol.

"Nothing", he replied angrily, feeling weak as he couldn't sense Eriol's presence. Neither emotion nor expression was shown across his annoyed face.


	3. Lunch

**Disclaimer**: No WAY CCS is mine

**The Cost of Love**

Chapter 3

Lunch

She took a deep breath; steadying herself for another possibility of a useless attempt. The path towards the garden seemed shorter than ever for her as she believed she'd walked at a very slow pace. Her heart fluttered like crazy, thumping louder and louder as she stepped closer towards the very same figure, doing things he always do at around the same time every day since he'd been there.

She wasn't ready. She changed her direction towards a much smaller tree at the border of the garden then hid behind it. She leaned against it and took a few deep breaths. Her mind flew right away, remembering clearly about her failure attempts. It's been a week since she took the courage of challenging him and she hadn't given up since. She had been asking everyday from that day to make him teach her that particular move, but still in the end, he would refuse and shun her away. She tried persuading him by doing something in return, like be his book carrier between classes, or buy him food for lunch, or get him excuses to miss classes, but yet again, he would get really furious and Eriol would have to come and calmed him down. He's been truly a life saver these days, she thought. She owed him a lot.

No! Today's the day, she thought. _He will teach me, no matter what_

She took one last big breath and spun from the tree, toward that _figure _that was sitting down beside the cherry blossom tree. She walked toward him surely, closing in the gap between them.

"Not you again", he said suddenly before she reached him, the desperation clear from his words.

"Hey…" she replied sheepishly.

"For the _last time_, n-"

"Please?"

"No!" he said with finality in his voice

"Why not?"

He was outraged; his face gave it all away. His eyebrows furrowed and his teeth clenched tight, trying so hard not to yell and beat this girl up right there and then. She bit her tongue, sealing her mouth not to say another word. He opened his mouth, the anger still visible in his burning amber eyes, but then closed it again. He looked around, as if expecting something or someone and in a brief moment, he turned away and took off, leaving a confused Sakura standing alone.

_What…?_

Sighs of disappointment soon came from behind her. She turned around and as expected, a group of girls already standing there, disappointed by not meeting Syaoran there. She could see them touched up their appearance by adding mascara, lip gloss, eye liners, just to make them look more appealing in their own ways. She wasn't surprised when she saw her cheerleading squad there too.

"Hi, girls", she greeted them warmly; a sweet smile plastered her face.

Nobody replied. She was sure nobody even noticed her, standing there dumbfounded until one girl noticed, Sarah, the captain of her team. Her shoulder length blonde hair was curled a little and as usual; she used a lot of make up to bring out her features.

"Oh, didn't see you there, Kinomoto. Sorry", she said with her high-pitched voice then giggled. Soon, the rest of the team giggled with her. Sakura giggled with them triumphantly.

"Oh yeah, about the somersault. Mastered it yet?" Sarah's voice became serious and cold; not at all friendly.

She just shook her head slowly, looking down.

"You can't do THAT yet?" one girl from her team added.

"How did she end up in cheerleading anyway?" another girl said, with the same attitude

"Girls, we don't have time for this. Come on, let's go. Practice is at 3, don't you dare not show up!" she snapped the last part to Sakura only.

"_Hai…"_

The girls giggled some more and moved away. Sakura stayed on her position for a while, hearing the girls' noises, becoming further away. She could still hear one of the girls said something about wasting their precious practice time on her.

"Girls, we have to be nice to a rookie like her. We all know she won't stay long anyway, so why bother?" Sakura heard Sarah replied calmly and the others agreed from afar.

Angry tears started to form on her emerald jewels. She was trying to hold them in but couldn't. They spilled slowly out of the corner of her eyes. _No! I don't wanna cry because of 'em. I'm strong, I can and will get through this. I'll show them, I can do it if I practice. _With that, she shoved her eyes with her hand, trying to dry her damp eyes. She looked up and saw the beautiful cherry blossom tree, standing tall. She was slightly cheered by its presence, she surely like this tree a lot.

"Hey, Sakura-chan"

"Hey Eriol", her voice was weak.

He came from behind the mahogany tree, next to the cherry blossom tree. She didn't even know since when or how he was there, nobody seemed to notice his being there.

"I didn't know girls can be _that _cold", he blurted.

"Now I know why you want to learn somersault from that rock headed wolf. You wanted to proof yourself", it wasn't a question, it was a statement.

Her eyes glued to the ground, not meeting sapphire blue eyes that were on her.

"You'll be fine, don't worry", he patted her head soothingly.

"Thanks…" When she was sure that all her tears had dried, she looked up only to meet his gaze still fixed on her, grinning. His sapphire blue eyes were warm and soft on her.

"That's better", he said with a charming yet friendly smile.

* * *

On recess, as usual she ate alone. She went up to the roof, sitting at her usual place, right on the corner, beside the door. From there, she could see the bright blue sky and still be beneath the shades. 

She opened her bento box and her covered pair of chopsticks.

"Itadakimasu…" she whispered silently.

She ate slowly, enjoying every bite. His father has always been the best in cooking. Out of nowhere, the door opened swiftly. Sakura jumped a little when he heard the sound of the door being closed roughly, which made a loud 'bang'.

_Oh no…_

She knew that rough attitude all too well and regretted that she chose to eat there, especially when he'd claimed the place as his sanctuary as well, the place where he'd hide from the crowd, the place where he practiced, and the place whenever he wanted to be alone - the same purposes why she always come to that place.

She tried to be as quiet as possible, be invisible to him if that's possible. She composed herself, sitting silently, not breathing.

Incredibly, he walked pass her, not noticing her. He kept moving until he was on the edge; he gripped the railings and watched the sky, while sighing.

Sakura was relieved. She continued munching her food silently. _He didn't notice me…that's the first. _Then, she started to breath again.

Shaoran's head turned quickly towards his back. He frowned, his eyes filled with confusion.

"How did you get here??" he asked, shouting the words at her

_What…?_

She looked at him incredulously, _he didn't see me? I thought he has that sixth sense thingy. He did it this morning…_

"Answer me!!!" his anger spilled through his words.

"I was here before you"

"No way…" she barely heard his words; he was actually whispering them to himself.

He stumped towards the exit door but stopped abruptly when he felt two hands gripping his shirt to stop him from walking away. He turned around; ready to yell at her again when he recalled what Eriol had said to him before.

"_It wouldn't kill you to be nice to her once in a while", Eriol said to him, before recess._

"_Her? What are you talking about?"_

"_Sakura, Kinomoto Sakura"_

_Anger rose after Shaoran heard that particular girl's name. He was really, truly annoyed by her. When will she ever stop yapping at him about the somersault?!! He couldn't stand it anymore!_

"_Why should I??" Shaoran replied, annoyed by his cousin's intentions._

"_She's different than the other girls and the other people around us"_

"_How can you be so sure?"_

"_She has a different aura"_

"_Everybody has different auras"_

"_Just try to be a good descendant and a good leader soon to be"_

"_What does it have to do with being a good leader?!" Shaoran was confused_

"_You have to be able to trust people when you're a leader and you have to be a gentleman to women, remember?"_

"_I don't care about such shit!"_

"_Language, my descendant"_

"_Shut the hell up!!" he hated being lectured by his own annoying cousin._

"_Oh well, I guess you won't mind if I accidentally tell your father about the Japanese test last week", his tone changed, from serious to annoying for Shaoran's ears. __**How does he know that??!!**_

"_I don't know what you mean", his jaw tightened and looked away._

"_Oh…You know what I mean…I thought you're supposed to get an A+ in every test. And I'm sure you didn't even get close to that in Japanese"_

"_It's not like you got an A+ on it!!"_

"_I'm close to it" __**What??!! How can I lose to him in academics?! No way!!**_

_**Great, he's blackmailing me and I can't do anything 'bout it!!!!**_

"_What do you want, Eriol?!"_

"_Be nice to her and I'll stay quiet"_

"_Hell no!!"_

"_Are you sure bout that, Sha-o-ran?" he pulled his cell phone out_

"_You wouldn't!"_

"_Just be nice to her…"_

_Shaoran was at his peak of anger, yet he couldn't do anything when it got with his father and his pride. _

"_Swear on it!" he pulled Eriol's collar and yanked him up slightly, growling._

"_I promise", he smiled his crook smile that annoyed Shaoran even more._

"_Only one day!"_

"_No deal, a weak"_

"_What?! No way!!"_

_Eriol pressed something on his cell and brought it to his right ear._

"_Okay, okay! Turn it off!" he grabbed Eriol's phone and turned it off himself. _

"_That's a good boy" , Eriol grinned._

"_UGH!!!"_

_He stomped quickly away from his cousin and disappeared from the classroom. Shaoran wanted to go as far away from his cousin as possible. He hated being beaten and he needed to cool off. Not thinking twice he went up to the roof, as usual._

"_He'll thank me one day", Eriol grinned and laughed to himself as he himself took off._

Shaoran examined her. She was alone, eating a small simple bento box.

"What do you want?!" he spat the words.

Sakura let go of his blazer immediately, "sorry". She was also surprised by her own actions.

"_Be nice to her and I'll stay quiet"_

_You annoying bastard!! _He screamed inside his own head

"Where's your stupid gang?" he asked mockingly.

"They're not my gang! They're not even friendly to me…"

"Whatever! Then what do you want?!"

"Mmm…"

"Just say it!!"

"Do you mind eating with me here?"

"The hell I wo-"

"_Be nice to her and I'll stay quiet"_

"Fine!" he shouted to the voice he knew well inside his head.

"Really?" Sakura couldn't believe it.

He didn't answer but sat down next to her, his face contorted with anger. On the other hand, Sakura kept on eating silently.

"Aren't you eating?" she asked him suddenly, after a while.

"No"

"You forgot your lunch?"

"No"

"So where is it?"

He took a deep breath. _When will this 'being nice' thing end?!_

"I never bring lunch, okay!"

"Don't your parents make you lunch?"

"They're too busy for that, not that I care!"

"Oh…sorry", _I forgot, he's an important person that belongs to an important family, a clan, whatever they call it._

"I don't like being pitied"

"Oh"

She continued on eating but couldn't stand the silence between them. _How can someone stand being this quiet when he's being with somebody else? _

"It's been a while since I have lunch with somebody", she said, breaking the silence. She was giggling a little, she was actually really happy. It's true that it has been a long time since she ate lunch with a companion and she'll admit it, it has been really lonely for her.

"Hm"

"I know you might not believe me, but really, it's true"

"Hm"

"You don't talk much, do you?"

"You're the one who talks too much"

"Never mind", she laughed at his stubbornness.

"Hey, what's it like being popular?" She was curious.

"It's really none of your business"

"Okay…Then, how do you do that 'thing'?"

"What are you talking about?"

"That sixth sense thing you always do?"

"Again, none of your business"

"Fine, fine. Do you wanna try this?" she picked up a sushi roll towards him.

"No thanks", he didn't look at it

"My father made it. It's really good! He truly is the best at cooking. Try it"

"No"

"You're not hungry?"

"No", he was lying. He doesn't ask food from other people, even if he's starving. Again, he hated being pitied. He's not weak nor did he need any help or kindness from others.

He was actually really hungry by his training this morning and didn't want to go to the cafeteria, to have a chance to see his cousin's annoying face and a big chance to meet up with the stupid screaming girls.

After a while, they're quiet again. None spoke and broke the silence this time. Being tired, Shaoran fell asleep silently.

Then, the bell rang frantically, signaling that it was then time to go back to class. Sakura quickly packed her bento box but then stopped her movements.

"Hey, the bell rang already" she said to her 'companion'.

"Whatever, I'm not going, it's an easy subject for me anyway, leave me alone"

"Okay then, have a nice rest. Thank you, for companying me, it really means a lot to me"

"Whatever"

Shaoran turned to face the other way and started to close his eyes. Sakura then opened her bento box once again. When she finished what she was doing, she ran quickly downstairs and got off to her next class.

* * *

Shaoran woke up silently, after his long sleep. It was then the right time to go to his last class, which was Japanese. He had to attend it, since it was his weakest subject. He turned his head around, ready to reach the door when his eyes caught on something. 

There, next to him, the place where that girl sat, laid her bento box with a new pair of chopsticks above it with a note that said 'eat it, I know you're hungry'. Curiously, he picked up the bento box and opened it slowly. He was a bit surprised, there laid a few sushi rolls she had offered him before.

* * *

A/N: Okay, I'm back since sooooooooooo long not updating. I'm really sorry to keep you guys waiting. School has been torturing me!! A lot of homework and tests! Finally, my finals are finished and now I have a lot of free time, so I'll definitely update faster. Again, I'm really, really, truly sorry. Gomendasai...I'm open for critics and suggestions, as always. Mostly, please review...Please2! Thanks

Sincerely, **_Emerald-winged_**


	4. Unknown Past

**The Cost of Love**

Chapter 4

Unknown Past

_Small footsteps disturbed the silence, coming closer to a brightly lit room located at the very end of the hallway. Five children entered the room and hugged the woman, smiling brightly. _

"_Mom, you're going again??" the oldest kid asked with disbelief._

"_Yeah…" Her answer was weak._

"_Don't forget, I want presents!" The younger one added._

"_If she gets presents, I want presents too!"_

"_Oh me too, me too!"_

_The woman just smiled at all of them, love radiating from her. _

"_How about you? What do you want, huh?" she picked the youngest kid up and swing the kid from side to side._

"_It's okay. I don't need anything", the kid answered coolly, though a hint of lie was clear._

"_Are you sure about that? Hmm?" the woman couldn't help but giggle at the kid's stubbornness. She was so sure that the kid had been watching the same channel on television, just to see a particular toy car._

"_Yeah, I'm sure", he replied in a serious tone, turning away to avoid the woman's gaze._

"_Okay then, run along. Mother needs to pack", she hugged each of them, her heart breaking to pieces each time._

_The young children quickly ran from her room, except for the youngest kid. The woman turned to him, confused._

"_What's up?" she smiled warmly, though it didn't reach her eyes._

"_When you get back, I want another family picnic, in the park!" the kid said cheerfully, remembering the last fun picnic, long time ago._

_She laughed with her soft giggles then hugged him tightly and whispered, "take care…Now, run along. Mother really needs to pack", she said in a matter-of-factly tone._

"_Okay. See you mom, love you", the kid smiled brightly and dashed out of the room._

_Tears suddenly ran down the woman's cheek slowly, showing emotions she had been hiding very well a moment before.

* * *

_

_The young kid ran anxiously toward the very same room, knocking on the door eagerly._

"_Mother? Mother? Mother?!"_

"_She's not there, young master", a soft voice came from behind the kid._

"_No! I saw the presents downstairs! She must be here somewhere!" the kid was upset._

"_Those arrived this morning, through the mail…" the soft voice once again spoke gently and sadly._

"_No! She's here! I know it!" the kid knocked the door roughly by then, exasperated by the unmoving door and the silence from the room. _

"_She'll never come back", a cold voice came from the other side._

"_NO!!"_

* * *

**Shaoran's POV**

I woke up slowly, pushing my silky green bed sheets aside, freeing myself a little. I glanced to my side, finding my alarm clock neatly placed on the small table right next to my huge, king-sized bed.

_7.30 AM_

I got up then headed towards my bathroom. The shower was on the far end, a Jacuzzi/bath tub in the middle, and a mirror was always placed right above the table where I neatly put my comb, cologne, and such. As I headed for the shower, I glanced briefly towards the mirror, looking at my disarrayed hair -my bed head. My hair was impossible to neaten like Eriol's, heck it never been even close to what they call neat. It stuck out in all directions on my head -not that I care. I always left it messy.

I turned the shower on cold then undressed myself. I went inside the shower and shuddered as soon as the freezing cold water touched my warm skin. I needed to clear my head and this should do the job.

As my mind drifted, it subconsciously flew to my past; it is wasn't something 'perfect', like people often thought… they had no idea what I'd been through back then and it was far off from what you call 'perfect'.

I was appointed to be the future leader since I was very young and since then, I had been trained to reach that position. Back then, for children the same age as me, school was 5 days of fun. As for me? It was 7 days of torture. My schedule everyday was completely full, and it included no breaks. Just studying, learning, and practicing. When others could do A, I was trained to do A, B, and C. I was trained to be ahead of others, to be two or three steps forward, to gain more than others, and to earn more than others. When my age was fit to be elementary school, I was already learning junior high material. While others who're the same age as I was had just reached their yellow belt, I was already struggling to earn my blue belt in karate. I was always ahead of everybody, but I never liked it.

People would respect me, and praise my being ahead of them, in terms of intelligence, physical strength and maturity. But, still, they would avoid me. It was as if I was being isolated from the normal world, an alien in other's eyes.

Back then, the elders always told me to study hard as hell because they said I would soon enjoy the feeling of being powerful, having everyone below you, having people doing things under your orders, and knowing that you're the best -to simply be a leader. They always said it would be very rewarding to achieve it and it would make my family and my ancestors proud. Only now, have I realized that I've been brainwashed by them since the very start.

Like I said: I hated it. At least, at first I did. Until, one day it all finally made sense to me. Knowledge is power. If you're better than others, people would feel inferior and because of that, I felt utterly powerful.

Since then, I didn't see this duty as my obligation -something I must do for my family, rather as a challenge for myself; to make myself stronger and wiser… to become the best leader the clan has ever seen. Since then, I never regretted anything at all. I smiled to myself at this last thought, remembering the day very clearly.

And it wasn't only knowledge that I achieved after studying so hard, I achieved a lot more. After those tormenting trainings, I also learned that I had mystical powers that I could control. I could sense people's presence and I could tell what they were feeling at any given moment: sad, angry, happy, and a lot more. By training and training everyday, doing martial arts, I also found my passion to be a martial artist -as a side job, of course.

After quite a long shower, I turned it off and grabbed my towel, wrapping it around my waist. I grabbed my comb and tried to comb my messy, wet hair in front of the mirror. In the mirror I saw that my hair was still as messy as ever even after I tried to comb it, and so gave up trying to make it more decent.

I got dressed into my uniform, perfectly ironed, revealing no trace of it being folded before. I was about to leave my room, when something interesting caught my eye, before I even reached the doorknob. It was placed right next to the door, on top of my book shelves. An old toy car -that was already a little rusty- stood proud. I grabbed it absentmindedly and started examining it; I remembered how I used to love it, and how I would watch TV just to catch a glimpse of it. I couldn't believe how such an unimportant thing made me respond like that, I was just a clueless kid back then. My mind quickly flew to my mother.

Yes, my mother, the embarrassment of the family. She left when her kids still needed her attention, leaving all her duties behind. She was a weakling, running away from her problems and her obligations. If I remembered correctly, it was those times when the family started focusing on me being the new leader. It was then that the extensive studies and trainings began.

And for that, I hated my mother. She was the start of it all.

I know it may seemed childish to think that way, but it was hard not to. After she left, it was as if I'd been woken up from a nice dream, and forced to enter reality -a really tough reality.

Even so, I didn't want to throw the old toy car away… somehow I just couldn't throw it away. Something unknown inside me, was keeping me from doing so; even though I hated it. So there it had always stood, right next to my door.

After I broke off from my train of thoughts, I went outside my room and headed down stairs. I walked towards the breakfast room and saw that my father was already there, sipping his black coffee and reading the newspaper. The breakfast table was long, long enough for models to do a catwalk on it; it was to anticipate important guests. I took a seat that was located on the opposite side of where he was sitting, on the far end. We rarely ever spoke, it was just a relationship between a leader and his heir; no more, no less.

I sat silently and started to eat. Only when he heard my knife cut through the bacon, did he finally look up from his newspaper, noticing my presence. His eyes were as cold as ever, piercing mine sharply, like a policeman interrogating his suspect.

"How was school?" he asked with his business tone, cold and expressionless; his face didn't change, looking at me with curious eyes.

"Same as always", I replied, reflecting the same tone wondering whether Eriol had told him about the Japanese test.

He nodded once then went to bury his face once again into his newspaper.

* * *

**Sakura's POV**

"How's school nowadays, Sakura?" my dad asked me, smiling warmly, observing at how my face always changed when I picked up something different from my plate. I knew that my face must be reflecting something close to ultimate happiness or satisfactory. My dad's cooking was always the best, he could cook something simple and it would ended up tasting like it had came from a gourmet restaurant.

I ate quickly and answered, sounding really disappointed, "I still can't get Math dad…I don't get it at all! Am I mentally retarded or something?"

"No, you're not. Keep on trying, I know you'll get it." He replied "Hmmmm… How about asking your brother?"

"Ask him?! Haven't you ever met onii-chan, dad? He's the last person I want to ask! I'll ended feeling a lot worse, I know it!" my voice shook, imagining already how it would be like; being called stupid every second since I always made mistakes in Math, even simple ones.

He chuckled in response.

"Speaking of the devil, where is Touya anyway?" I asked out of curiosity.

"He woke up really early; he's going camping for a few days with his classmates."

"Oh…" I felt a sense of loneliness right away. I knew very well that I always fought with him, but when he was away, as much as I hated to admit it, I miss him. Did I really just say that? Maybe this Math dilemma was making me go berserk!

"It won't be long", I knew he sensed my feelings.

"Oh yeah, and did I tell you? There are two transfer students from Hong Kong and they're quickly becoming popular", I quickly changed the subject.

"No, you haven't told me. Who are they?"

"Eriol Hiragizawa and Shaoran Li", I told him.

"Shaoran Li?!" He was so surprised that he choked on his coffee. Wow, this Li boy must be someone important.

"Who is he anyway?" I asked, my curiosity aroused.

"Sakura…You _have _to read the newspaper, at least once in a while", he answered, knowing fully well that I barely touched anything that had to do with politics.

"You haven't answer my question, dad" I answered weakly, though I really wanted to know.

"He's the new heir of the Li Clan."

Seeing my blank expression, he continued, "The current leader of the Li Clan is his father. So it was sort of like a tradition that the heir had to be a pure blood. The Li Clan heads international property development companies across Asia and Australia and their main branch is in Hong Kong. They're currently one of the most successful and wealthy associations in the world. They are, in fact, the one that made Asia known internationally."

"Oh. So is he known to be, somewhat, unfriendly to people? Rude even?"

"Why would you say that?" He asked, puzzled by my question.

"Well, I've spent time with him and he hasn't been making it easy."

"Sakura, a lot of people would do anything to get close to him, to get close to his family -his wealth. It's totally necessary for him to be cautious towards other people. He can't just let people in that easily, you should understand his situation." He said softly and surely, locking his gaze to mine, signaling that he's being serious.

"That's such a hard and lonely life…" I mumbled to myself, looking at my now empty plate that was filled with scrambled eggs and bacon before, "How would he have friends thinking that some of them might use him for their own goods?"

I didn't know such life existed, not before my dad told me about it. _And I thought I've had a bad one, but compared to his… mine is heaven on earth. _

"What can I do, dad?" I looked up and met his eyes once again.

"What do you mean?"

"I want to be his friend. At least, I'll try to be."

"And why would you do that?" his eyes became curious.

"Because-" _he reminded me of myself…_ "He always comes to the same place where I usually have my lunch and I _kinda_ have to share it, since he _kinda_ claims the place as his." I babbled and my dad laughed silently, under his breath.

"I'm being serious, dad. It's not funny! Seriously, what can I do?" I was starting to get annoyed and frustrated. _How to make him see that I'm not one of those people?_

He chuckled and his eyes became soft, straight against mine; then he simply smiled gently, looking proud.

"Just be your normal self, be the fun loving, warm, cheerful, and stubborn Sakura I know best. Even the coldest heart would melt looking at your smile", he said very carefully.

_It's not that easy…_

"Well then, I guess I better get going, thanks dad for breakfast and the advice. See you tonight", I smiled and waved him goodbye.

* * *

"Sakura!" Kai's voice finally broke Sakura's train of thoughts.

"Kinomoto!" Mr. Takeda's voice rang with fury.

Sakura looked at the board, finally brought back to the classroom, another Math class. She hadn't paid attention to her surroundings and she had no idea what Mr. Takeda had been talking about; she didn't even know why Kai and the teacher called her name until she saw a complicated Math problem straight ahead.

_Oh no…_

She searched inside her head, a formula, something Kai had tried to teach her, but still, absolutely nothing came up. She had no idea whatsoever about it, it didn't ring any bell.

"Well, Kinomoto?!" his voice was much scarier than usual in her ears.

Other students started glancing back, looking at her rather mockingly. Some students whispered behind her, she could hear them even though she couldn't really made out what they're saying.

"Hmm…" she hummed silently, finally finding her own voice.

"X³-5x² 23", a whisper came from her side, a voice of a savior, to her at least.

"X³-5x² 23?" she answered quickly before Mr. Takeda got the chance to yell at her. She knew it was coming since his face was furious, he absolutely loathed students that weren't listening to his teachings and it was a careless mistake of her to do that. She couldn't help it, after talking to her dad her mind had been thinking about it all day.

Mr. Takeda's expression changed significantly, all the rage gone, replaced by surprised and confusion, "That's better, and for the rest of you who didn't listen, be ready to fail your next exam" , he turned back toward the board and started writing new sets of problems, once in a while asking students for the answer randomly.

Sakura quickly turned to her side when the teacher wasn't looking, finding Kai looking back right at her.

"Thank you so much", she mouthed the words, not wanting eavesdroppers.

He grinned and whispered, "Anytime". It was not until then had she realized that his eyes were the same shade as Li's, only his were much warmer and they're smoldering on her emerald ones. Knowing that, she smiled back; truly grateful that she was in the same class as Kai's and was sitting right next to him.

* * *

"You are such a life savior!" Sakura beamed at Kai as soon as Mr. Takeda stepped out from their class.

"I know, I know", he said playfully, "You owe me your life."

"Your wish is my command", she bowed her head playfully and laughed momentarily.

"What were you thinking about anyway? I called you a few times, you didn't respond at all and don't even let me start with the seriousness expression you had on your face." He was amused.

"My mind was just somewhere else", she whispered because the Japanese teacher came in, the next class was about to start.

"That's unusual for you. You usually pay more attention than anyone I know in class." He was still looking at her, trying to read her eyes.

"You don't know that", I shook it off.

"Of course I do, I watch you every Math class", he started grinning again.

"And why would you do _that_? Don't you have better things to do than just watching people?" her tone became a little sarcastic.

"Your face changes simultaneously every time Takeda says something. It's absolutely hilarious!" he chuckled.

"It's not funny. It's not my fault that I'm this bad at Math" she mumbled just for Kai to hear, feeling embarrassed all the way.

After two hours of Math and an hour of Japanese, the bell finally rang, signaling it was recess. Sakura put her books back inside her backpack and took out her bento box, ready to took off.

"Where're you having your lunch?" Kai's voice was light, friendly.

"I usually just go somewhere empty, you know, away from crowds", she answered honestly.

"Do you need company?" he smiled warmly again.

"What is Kai doing with _her?_" whispered words were behind them, Sakura could hear the girl clearly.

"I bet he's hitting on her, but you know, he'll end up hating her in the end anyway" another was heard, coming from a boy this time and his friends roared in laughter.

"Kai, you really don't have to be so nice to me, I don't want people to gossip about you, just because of me. I'm fine, really, I'm used to it," she really meant it, she was a loner and she liked it, no matter what people said about it, her being a freak, a weirdo, whatsoever. With that, she turned away and headed to the same, usual place.

_It's bad enough for him to have a lot of classes together with me, he shouldn't be mingling with me more than that._

Sakura had recently learned that Kai was one of the 'in crowds', everybody wanted to be his friend, he was friendly to everyone and it wasn't until the new school year started that his 'friends' started asking him questions about why he would talk and spend time with Sakura Kinomoto, the girl who always seemed mysterious in her own way. Of course a lot of guys liked her a lot because of her kindness and beauty but she never actually showed any preference. Most girls just thought her as a freak and a lot of guys gave up in the end. None understood her because she wasn't as friendly or as lonesome as others. Sakura Kinomoto was known as an unreadable book and therefore nobody even bothered trying to get close to her anymore because she herself never showed anything more than just plain politeness.

* * *

Shaoran was faster that day; he was there before her, leaning on the railings, sipping what Sakura thought was Coke. She slowly slipped outside and sat where she usually sat, under the shades. She knew Shaoran noticed her presence by the way his head moved a little, as if disturbed by something behind him.

She was starting to open her bento box her father packed this morning, smiling brightly when she saw the menu today, tempura. She snapped the chopstick apart and whispered a silent 'itadakimasu' and was about to dig in when a movement in front of her caught her eyes. There she saw Shaoran left his spot and was now heading toward her with his cold, tormenting eyes. It was then that she was aware about her surroundings; the place was secluded, she's completely alone with this creepy, heartless boy, nobody would hear her scream, and he was glaring at her as if he was ready to eat her alive.

Sakura's heart stopped beating. _Oh no…He won't do what I think he would do, right…? _Sakura looked away, avoiding his figure and his creepy gaze or glare. He was getting closer and Sakura did what she thought was best, scream.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU??" he shouted, covering his ears.

"You tell me!" she shouted back weakly, still looking away, fighting back her fears.

"Idiot!" In a split second, he threw something and landed with a thud in front of her. After that, he turned back and went to the railings again, still sipping his Coke. It was her yesterday's lunch box, she forgot about it until then. She picked it up slowly and felt the weight of it. She opened it and it hadn't changed, he didn't touch the sushi rolls. There was still four of it there with the new pair of chopsticks still like before.

"Why didn't you eat it?" Sakura found her voice back and said it loud enough for him to hear.

"I said I didn't want it!" he answered sourly.

"It's called appreciating someone's kindness", she raised her tone. She couldn't believe it, the lunch her father had made with love and care was wasted for this brat who didn't even thank her properly!

"I don't need _your kindness_", his spat words were icy cold to Sakura's ears.

* * *

Sakura walked or more or less stormed all the way to her classes, even after a few periods, remembering her unpleasant lunch break. Her next class was Chemistry and she didn't know anyone there, except a few of her cheerleading group who probably didn't notice her so she simply took out her Chemistry book and started scribbling what was written on the white board, paying attention to the Chemistry teacher.

She was concentrating on the subject but her mind refused to comply and flew right back to her encounter with the Li Shaoran, an unfamiliar urge suddenly came to her as she grabbed something from her bag and before she knew what it was, she had asked a permission to go to the girl's room which the teacher permitted right away. She knew from the corner of her eyes that her cheerleading group finally noticed her; she walked toward the door and closed it gently.

She headed to the stairs, going further and further up until the very same familiar, old door came to view. She opened it gently, making sure that she didn't make any screeching sound or detectable noise. Right beside the door, a figure was leaning on the wall, in deep slumber.

_Missing class again, what a slack. _

She put what she had taken from her bag before and laid it gently in front of him, as careful as possible so he won't wake up, for she knew that he might really beat her up right there and then if she disturbed him.

_Why do you always pretend to be so strong when you're this careless, you haven't eaten again._

After glancing at him one more time, she went straight back to the door and closed it behind her slowly then went back to her class silently.

* * *

**A/N: Hi everyone!! Finally, I finished chapter 4... Hope you guys like it, I know there isn't much Sakura Shaoran moments in this chapter but I will put a lot more on the next chapter and so on. I hope I can reach the climax soon (the main story) and write faster.**

**Again, I'm wide open for critics and suggestions. Hope you keep reading my story coz the fun part's has yet to come.**

**R & R please...**

**Emerald-winged**


End file.
